Pie marker



Sept. 6 1955 M. A. JOHNSTON PIE MARKER Filed Feb. 17, 1953 Mary A.Ja/msfan INVENTOR.

BY WW 8M United. States Patent PIE MARKER Mary A. Johnston, Huntsville,Mo.

Application February 17, 1953, Serial No. 337 ,358

1 Claim. (Cl. 107-47) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements and structural refinements in pie markers, and theprincipal object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter herein described which may be conveniently and effectivelyemployed for marking a pie, particularly the crust of the pie, so thatit may be subsequently cut into a plurality of sectors of equal size.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity ofconstruction, in its efiicient and expeditious operation and in itsadaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and suchother objects and features as may become apparent as this specificationproceeds, the invention corsists essentially of the arrangement andconstruction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the invention with the markingblades thereof in their retracted position;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the invention;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view, partially broken away and similarto that shown in Figure 1, but illustrating the marking blades in theiroperative positions, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of theline 44 of Figure 3.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in thespecification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail. the inventionconsists of a pie marker which is designated generally by the referencecharacter and embodies in its construction an elongated, cylindricalhousing 12 provided at the upper and lower ends thereof with end caps14, 16, respectively, and also provided in the side wall thereof with aplurality of circumferentially spaced slots 18.

The slots 18 extend upwardly from the lower end of the housing, althoughthe upper ends of the slots are spaced downwardly from the upper end ofthe housing, as shown. Moreover, the marginal edge portion or flange ofthe end cap 16 is formed with a plurality of notches 20 which are inregister with the respective slots 18.

A plurality of marking blades 22 having relatively sharp edges 24, arepivoted by suitable pins 26 to pairs of brackets 28 which are secured tothe inside of the lower end cap 16, the blades 22 being normallydisposed in an upwardly extending position in the housing 12 but beingin register with the slots 18 and notches 20 so that the blades may beswung outwardly and downwardly to substantially coplanar, radialpositions as shown in Figure 3, when the device is to be used.

Means are provided for locking the blades 22 either in their retractedor in their projected positions, these means consisting of a lockingsleeve 30 which is slidable on the housing 12 over the slots 18. Whenthe locking sleeve is in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, theblades 22 are prevented from swinging outwardly through the slots 18.However, by first sliding the locking sleeve 30 upwardly on the housing12, that is, above the uppe ends of the slots 18, the blades 22 may beswung outward- 2,716,950 Patented Sept. 6, 1955 ly and downwardly totheir operative positions as shown in Figure 3, whereupon the lockingsleeve 30 may he slid downwardly on the housing 12 so that it engagesthe upper edges of the blades 22 and prevents the same from beingretracted.

A center shaft 32 is slidable axially in the housing 12, that is, in theend caps 14, 16 of the housing, and projects at both ends therefrom, thelower end portion of the shaft 32 being adapted to be inserted in a piewhich is to be marked. The upper end of the shaft 32 carries aconvenient hand knob 34. A compression spring 36 is positioned on theshaft 32 within the upper end portion of the housing 12, one end of thespring abutting the end cap 14 while the other end of that spring abutsa washer or collar 38 which is secured to an intermediate portion of theshaft 32. In this manner, the shaft 32 is urged downwardly with respectto the housing, as will be clearly apparent.

When the device is to be placed in use and the blades 22 are radiallyprojected as shown in Figure 3, the sleeve 30 is slid downwardly on thehousing 12 so as to lock the blades in their projected positions.Thereupon, the lower end portion of the shaft 32 is insertedsubstantially in the center of a pie which is to be marked, and byholding the finger-piece 34 with one hand and sliding the entire housing12 downwardly on the shaft 32 with the other hand, the lower edges 24 ofthe blades 22 will be pressed into the crust of the pie, thus markingthe same. When downward pressure on the housing is relaxed, the spring36 will automatically raise the housing on the shaft 32 so as todisengage the blades 22 from the pie crust.

In this manner, the crust of a pie, indicated by the dotted line 40 inFigure 4, will be effectively'marked into a plurality of sectors ofequal size, preparatory to cutting.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will beclearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly,further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur tothose skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitablemodifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within thescope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A pie marker comprising: a vertical, cylindrical housing having aplurality of circumferentially spaced, longitudinal slots therein, aslidable longitudinal guide shaft mounted centrally in the housing andprojecting from both ends thereof, one end portion of said shaft forinsertion in a pie to be marked, a handle on the other end of the shaft,a plurality of pivoted marking blades mounted radially in the housingaround the shaft and swingable through the slots to operative andinoperative positions, means on the housing for releasably securing theblades in either position, and means on the shaft for elevating thehousing for disengaging the blades from the pie, the last-named meansincluding a collar fixed on the shaft, said collar being engageable withthe free end portions of the blade for swinging same outwardly throughthe slots from inoperative position when released by said securingmeans, and a coil spring on the shaft engaged with the collar and thehousing for yieldingly urging said housing and said shaft in oppositedirections relative to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS444,094 Drabble Jan. 6, 1891 1,255,179 Klamer Feb. 5, 1918 1,457,233Solvack May 29, 1923

